W20 at the top of The Watermark played host Thursday, May 8, for a special invite only Rixton concert. About 30 lucky 105.5 radio contest winners attended the intimate noon time show. The British pop rock R&B band have been getting traction with their first single, “Me and My Broken Heart.” You may have caught them performing it in the past month on both the Voice and the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

How cool is it that Nathan McEuen can be found playing at Amigos for Happy Hour on Tuesdays; and how cool is it that his Nitty Gritty Dirt Band dad, John McEuen, stopped by to sit in for a few songs on Tuesday, May 6? VERY COOL.

The headliner for the Roadshow Revival: a Tribute to the Music of Johnny Cash will be Grammy Award Winners, Los Lobos. Other acts on the bill for the all day festival June 14 at the Fairgrounds will be The Paladins, Dale Watson, James Intveld, and much more. See www.RoadshowRevival.com.

It’s out with the old and in with the new as The Chaotic Knights retire their name as they welcome their new lead singer, David Cunningham on board. They’re renaming the band Whiskey Stone.

By the way, Martha Davis of the Motels never sounded better when she headlined the Ventura Beach Festival May 3; the Surfaris kicked some serious butt as well.

Hi-Hat Entertainment welcomes Kim Wilson (Fabulous Thunderbirds) to Yolie’s on Friday, May 16; Reverend Horton Heat will be at the Majestic Ventura Theater on May 23, the Green on the 26th and Against Me! on the 27th. And not only is the restaurant back, but the Hong Kong Inn is offering late night music on most weekends again.

Discovery has been ramping up getting ready to offer music on a more consistent basis. Look for Wailing Souls and Prezident Brown on May 23, and Hollywood U2 (tribute band) on May 25. Ticket information can be found on their website www.DiscoveryVentura.com. They’re also looking for local bands to showcase throughout the summer, just so you know.

Special guest, Doug Webb, will join Tico Trio later this month at Squashed Grapes on Saturday, May 31. Webb has been featured on over 500 recordings for hundreds of artists including Quincy Jones, Freddie Hubbard, and Stanley Clarke; he also has recorded for hundreds of movies and television shows including The Family Guy orchestra.

And finally, work continues for Ventura Music Week; mark it on your calendar now for June 6 – June 15th with the official kickoff party on Thursday, June 5; details coming soon.

Do you have any music related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com.

We can’t imagine there won’t be more future events like this because Blues at the Beach was a huge success! Players Casino, Roadshow Revival and Totally Local VC teamed up to bring a Blues festival to Ventura County and they pulled it off to a big win on November 2, 2013.
All the acts on the bill were outstanding with the 44’s opening, then the R&B Bombers, Guy Martin, Shawn Jones, James Harmon, The Mannish Boys and Elvin Bishop. Extra added treat was Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds joining both The Mannish Boys & Elvin Bishop for a number of songs.
We hope you enjoy some of the photos we took: